With social media being such a huge part of our culture, we often find ourselves bombarded with filtered, photoshopped images of models, actresses and influencers on the daily. So let’s get real. What does this do for self-love?
It’s near impossible to look at these photos and notcompare them to ourselves, holding our bodies, our hair, our faces to an unrealistic standard; we’re chasing perfection ladies and gents, and its slowly destroying us. Why? Because chasing perfection is essentially a rejection of who we are – it’s the unwillingness to embrace our unique quirks and flaws. It’s seeing who we are and what we look like and reinforcing the narrative that we’re simply not good enough. Which is an unhealthy, self-destructive mindset to carry in life.
We need to embrace the skin that we’re in – so today’s post is your pep talk cheat sheet for when you’re not feeling so hot, because believe me, we’ve all been there.
- BE KIND
Be kind to yourself. When you’re staring at your reflection in a mirror, stop obsessing about what you don’t like. Try something different. How about looking in the mirror and noticing the things you DO like about yourself? If this is difficult for you, start small. Maybe you have really awesome brows that you don’t need to fill in (so jealous). Maybe you love your hair colour. Maybe you love your summertime freckles. Find something you like, and notice it every single day. Admire yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back when you nail your eye shadow, or when you’re rocking that hot LBD. Over time, this will not only get easier – you’ll start to enjoy even more aspects of what you see in the mirror. Baby steps.
- UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER
You’re an interesting, complex, multi-dimensional human being. There is no one out there exactly like you. So embrace that! Are you an artist? A ballet dancer? A hockey player? Are you super determined? Are you adorably competitive? Maybe fashion is your jam. Maybe fractions and pie charts are your language. Maybe you’re a voracious reader. Or a poet. The list is endless, but my point is that you are a whole human being with all these amazing quirks and qualities. Instead of belittling yourself, celebrate the assets that make you unique and nurture them. Work towards a goal, gain more knowledge, treat yourself by working on yourself, and acknowledge that you’re a rad human being who people would be lucky to know. Be confident in the fact that you enrich the lives of the people around you. People who couldn’t care less about whether or not you have a thigh gap.
- THE JOURNEY NEVER ENDS
Life is a journey. We are forever growing, adapting and changing. And that’s a good thing. The journey to self-love isn’t an easy one, and like anything else, it requires work; i requires daily effort.
It’s like a relationship – it’s essentially your relationship with yourself, and it’s just as important (if not more so), so treat it as such. When you’re in a relationship, you spend time with your person, you care for them, treat them with kindness, show up for them, work towards goals with them. Same goes for your relationship with yourself! It’s that simple. And when you find yourself spiraling into a cycle of negative self-talk, I want you to ask yourself one thing: Would you dare say to another human being what you are saying to yourself? If the answer is no, you have no business thinking such thoughts.
I know it’s tough but here’s some food for thought: Isn’t it tiring to constantly hate on yourself? The endless self-critiques and nitpicking…doesn’t it get old? Wouldn’t life be so much easier if you just loved yourself? When are you going to allow yourself to be happy?The way I see it? We can’t let this stuff hold us back. There are better things to put our energy towards than obsessing over how we look.